I like to explore the world and I feel sorry for people that don't feel the need to do the same. People that don't know where Africa is on the map, well...they should be ashamed of themselves.
This blog will visualise the things I see, the things I feel, the things I experience. You can read song lyrics, see photographs and read my thoughts and feelings on different situations.
Take the journey with me if you want. If you don't, then piss off :-)

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Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Hey big spender...

Arrived in Hoi An all fine and safe. The hotel isn’t as great as the previous but I still have my own room so I can’t complain. Air conditioning may actually be saving my life right now – the temperature is averaging 36*C and the humidity is very high…all in all; a lot of sweat (nice, I know)!

We have a couple of days of free time in Hoi An which is lush as there is a lot to do in the city. This is the place to get clothes tailored so of course my account is taking a battering as the theme tune "hey big spender" plays as I walk down the street. I’ve had 2 pairs of shorts made, a shirt (had to press the ‘R’ key quite hard there to make sure I spelt the correct word!) and 2 pairs of shoes. I’ve also been pampered (Happy Birthday to me) with a facial and a MANicure…yes, manly!

Highlight of today though is renting a motorbike and driving to the beach. I’ve never ridden a motorbike before so where better to learn than in Vietnam where health and safety consists of “just be very careful”…easy :-/ I started off a bit nervous but after a couple of minutes I got the hang of it…basically you never stop and you beep a lot. I also learned that on-coming traffic is a usual occurrence here so if I wasn’t dehydrated enough from the sweat, the several moments where I wet myself certainly didn’t help at all either! So like I said – I drove to the beach…I didn’t stop…I couldn’t stop…they didn’t tell me where the break was! So I can report that the beach looks beautiful as I cruised past it at 40kmh (this doesn’t sound fast, but when your helmet is made of fabric; it certainly feels fast!) but we do plan to go as a group tomorrow (Wednesday) and do some sunbathing.

We actually have a swimming pool at this hotel so I did do some sunbathing earlier by there and I may even go for a swim tomorrow as well.

Hoi An as a place is very tourist orientated – everyone wants to sell you something but everyone is very polite so you don’t feel overly hassled. There’s plenty of places to buy some nice bracelets and other forms of jewelry so I may also need to invest in a third bag for everything I’m bringing back with me!

Currently in reception typing up this blog as the WIFI doesn’t reach my room all the time. The photo-count currently stands at around 500 on my phone and another 300 on my camera – makes for a nice evening’s entertainment when I get back :-D

The rest of my group are doing a cooking lesson at the moment…funnily enough learning to cook authentic, exotic, local food didn’t appeal to me so I skipped the class and chilled in the evening heat…having changed my t-shirt for the fourth time today! However not to fear – happy hour is still in place when they get back as well as the free karaoke…so a good night lays ahead!

I hear it’s very wet in the UK? I hope everyone is safe and sound and dry? Just a quick thank you again for everyone sending me messages. It’s really nice to hear from everyone and catch up on how you’re all doing! Please keep them coming. Replying is becoming more difficult now that I’m in a group but nevertheless, please keep them coming.

Going to sign off now. Need to work out how to post this without a mouse as it seems to have stopped working all of a sudden?!